The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (reading response)

 I can only describe this book with one word; blunt. It was completely blunt. Basically, the protagonist, Junior, is Indian and he lives on a reservation (its like an area where all the Indians in the same tribe live together in that place,I learned this in twilight) and he basically thinks he's too smart to be in a school where he's learning the same exact things his mom learned 30 years ago. He doesn't like the idea that they didn't advance their education in that school, so he decides he's going to attend a white school in Reardan where his education would better fit him. That may sound like no big deal to you, but in the reservation, that's a huge deal. He's already bullied as it is, and now everyone's going to hate him even more because they think he thinks he's better than them. Especially his bestfriend Rowdy.

 Rowdy is the same age as Junior (14) and they're best friends, but Rowdy is really mean to Junior. He makes fun of him, makes him cry (even though Junior is kind of sensitive for a teenage boy), and he doesn't really treat him with respect most of the time. BUT I think he does value Junior's friendship because when Junior got beat up by three 30 year old men (yup you heard me 30) Rowdy gets them back by cutting one of the brothers' hair off. Also, I think Rowdy's mean like that because his father abuses him. Both verbally and physically. I kind of feel bad for him.

 Anyways, back to Junior. So, yeah, the school in Rearden brings Junior both happiness and sadness. When he told Rowdy that he was going to transfer, Rowdy told him that they weren't friends anymore, and that made Junior cry. The first day there, he embarrassed himself in front of a girl he liked by telling her one name, and the teacher calling out another. Also, he punched a bully in the face and it turns out that that's never how they resolve their problems in Rearden, whereas on the reservation that was the only way to resolve problems. So, yeah, that was a bust...So, his first day was pretty bad.

  Along the way, he goes out with the girl who he embarrassed himself in front of, he becomes friends with the bully he punched in the face, he became best friends with a nerdy kid who's almost just like him, and he gets his old best friend back in the end. The bad things that happened were : his sister died, his grandmother died, and a person from the reservation died. A lot of dying in this book. But I think in the end, the story ends on a positive note. I wouldn't mind being Junior for a couple of months.

Reading Response: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

In this coming of age novel, the main character is an indian, 14 year-old boy named Arnold. Arnold is basically a nerd. He's smart, has a lisp, has a stutter, isn't so charming, and gets bullied on a daily basis. He grew up on a reservation (i think it's a place where Indians live or something like that) and apparently on the "rez" everyone is pretty much poor. When Arnold realizes that the textbook he used in geometry class, was the same one his mother used thirty years back, it was the last straw. He didn't want to be learning something so old, when he could be learning modern day advanced educaion...so he made a big decision...he transfered schools. He transfers to Rearden. A school where its all white poeple (except for when he starts to go there).

I know it doesn't seem like a big thing to  you, because people transfer schools all the time, but on the reservation it was a HUGE deal. People at the rez sort of feel offended because it's like admitting that that's not good enough, and that's against the rules (and by the rules, i mean the imaginary rules of life in which exist to the people in the book). When Arnold's bestfriend (and only friend)  Rowdy finds out that Arnold will be going to Reardan, he basically ends the friendship. Arnold's heart is broken into pieces, and  he's scarred.

My Favorite Post's :))))

  One thing I liked about Sofia's entry, La Vie ,is the voice of it. Anyone who has had a conversation with Sofia can tell that this wasn't plagiarized because she writes the way she speaks. For example, when she says,"This painting is of a naked man and woman looking at another woman holding a baby who is painting them.", I can totally picture her laughing as she says the word "naked". Another thing I liked about her entry was the detail and the hard work she put into it. Her blog post was 9 paragraphs long and each paragraph had just the right amount of detail in them. I learned a lot from Sofia's blog post.
  I also read Ruby's reading response, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and when I read this I felt like she was actually having a conversation with me. I have never talked to Ruby before. To be honest, the only contact we've made with each other was when she followed me back on tumblr. So, it's kind of cool that I felt this way. Anyway, her voice in this reading response is amazing because it's 100% her personality, but at the same time, it's not too much. It's,like, perfect. Another thing I liked about her post is the realization  she found while talking about the character in the book. She realized that she needed to stop telling herself she can't do things, and I really liked that.

Romeo and Juliet

 Okay,so, I'm starting not to like Romeo so much because he was so lovesick over Rosaline, and then BAM he's head over heels for Juliet.  I mean, how could you feel that sort of anger and sadness from the heart break, and then the same day, you're in love? It just doesn't seem logical to me. I personally think that he just thinks she's pretty, and that's why he likes her, because he didn't even know what her personality was like before he made out with her. He just rushed to kiss her. It doesn't seem legit to me.

 I feel somewhat the same about Juliet. I think that she just liked Romeo for his looks,and not his personality. I think when they were talking between kisses they got a small glimpse of each others personality's, but I don't think that's enough to to say that they're in love.

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins(Reading Response)

  Right now, in the story, Autumn is in a new foster home and she's planning on running away with her boyfriend because she hates being there. I honestly don't think she should run away because she's finally getting along with the three other girls who live there with her. If she runs away, where would she go? She can't go with her dad, she definitely can't go with her mother. She has no money for clothes, food, or a motel. And I'm pretty sure her boyfriend has zero dollars also. I think she should just cancel her plans, and stay with the foster family that she lives with right now. And if things start getting rough for her there, then she can start planning her way out. For now, it seems best to stay where she is.

Romeo and Juliet

  In Romeo and Juliet, my favorite character is Juliet. She's my favorite because she's so intelligent and mature for a thirteen year old. I love how she's not easily influenced. For example, when her mother was speaking to her about marrying Paris, she told her mother that she wanted to marry someone that she actually loved. I think that's amazing. If i was her, I would've just said okay to make my mother happy, but she didn't. I have various assumptions on why Juliet didn't just agree with her mother to make her mother happy, but they're not exactly logical. 
One: She really doesn't like Count O Paris as a person to marry.
Two: She's not in love, therefore she doesn't feel comfortable getting married.
Three: She thinks she's too young.
So, yeah. I love Juliet as a character so far in the book.

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins (Reading Response)

 This book is the last book in the Crank trilogy.  Though, it's not about Kristina this time...it's about her children. I was surprised when I read the blurb, because I didn't know that she had more than one child. Apparently, she has three. Hunter, Autumn, and Summer. None of which are raised by her. Hunter was raised by Kristina's parents. Autumn was raised by Trey [her father] 's parents. Summer was raised in foster care most of her life.

 The other two are kind of more outgoing, and Autumn is just a shy, kind girl (well, so far in the book). That's why she's my favorite character. One of my favorite things about her is that she has OCD. I know that sounds weird now, but let me explain. Having that disorder just adds on another characteristic to her personality. It shows how many different issues she's balancing at one time, and it's fun to read.

Hunter is my least favorite because his life is average. He doesn't do anything fun or exciting or reckless. All he does is fight with his girlfriend (a lot) and complain all day about how his mother wasn't a real mother to him. It gets really annoying.